Self cleaning fuel oil strainer

ABSTRACT

A self-cleaning fuel oil strainer, coupled to a continuous fuel flow, that includes a pair of canisters, each having a cylindrical wedge wire fuel oil filter screen. An elongated brush running the length of the screen is disposed between two confining walls also running the length of the screen to form a chamber. A elongated partition, including two sets of apertures, is used, along with the elongated brush, to divide the chamber into two particulate dislodge chambers and a drain subchamber. A drain is in fluid communication with the drain subchamber. During cleaning, the drain is opened and the screen is rotated against the brush for liberating the particulate contaminants and a limited amount of fuel oil into the two dislodge subchambers. The particulate contaminants and the limited amount of fuel oil then pass through the apertures at a high velocity and into the drain subchamber which exits through the drain. Alternatively, a reverse flow of clean fuel oil can be used in combination with the elongated brush, for dislodging the particulate contaminants from the fuel oil filter screen. Finally, another variation of using a reverse flow of clean fuel oil for cleaning purposes is discussed whereby a stationary fuel oil strainer is disposed in a system that isolates the fuel oil strainer from the normal fuel oil flow during cleaning.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No.09/417,404, filed on Oct. 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,022, whichis a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 09/014,447 filed Jan.28, 1998 now abandoned, the latter of which is now abandoned, both ofwhich are entitled SELF-CLEANING FUEL OIL STRAINER, and both of whoseentire disclosures are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to filter devices and, moreparticularly, to fuel system filters for small particulate contaminants.

It is well-known that the mechanical cleaning of a filter surface can beaccomplished by having a brush or scraper drag along the filter surfacewhere deposits have accumulated. In certain configurations, the brush orscraper is mounted at one end between two walls but with a significantportion of the brush or scraper projecting beyond the walls. Suchconfigurations are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 148,557 (Gillespie et al.);U.S. Pat. No. 556,725 (Farwell); U.S. Pat. No. 740,574 (Kohlmeyer) andU.S. Pat. No. 793,720 (Godbe). In conventional filter systems, theparticulate contaminants are driven off the filter surface and aredeposited in a hopper or tank along with the fluid being filtered, thusdiscarding large amounts of the fluid being filtered.

The use of a brush, or high speed cleaning spray, disposed between apair of walls for cleaning a cylindrical filter is known in the art, asis disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,977 (Aoki et al.) and U.S. Pat. No.5,595,655 (Steiner et al.) and Swiss Patent No. 22,863 (Zingg). Anothervariation employs a backwash that drives the particulate contaminantsoff of the cylindrical filter, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,338,416 (Barry).

One desirable use for fuel oil filter systems of the present inventionis in ships. Prior art ship fuel oil systems use conventional filtercartridges for cleaning the fuel in-line. However, these filtercartridges require frequent replacement which, in turn, requires thefuel flow to be interrupted during replacement. Interruption of the fueloil flow will shut down the ship's main engines, thereby rendering theship incapable of maneuvering. This can be catastrophic where the shipis in tight quarters, e.g., during docking or navigating through narrowpassageways, or during storms, or during battle with regard to warships.

Furthermore, there are additional costs of having to store sufficientreplacement cartridges onboard, the logistics involved in shipping anddisposing the cartridges to and from the ship, and the labor costsinvolved in replacing the cartridges.

In addition, shipboard fuel oil straining is a specialized strainingprocess. In particular, the fuel oil flow is initially pre-strained forgross particulate contaminants, such that any particulate contaminantsremaining in the fuel oil flow are extremely small (e.g., <100 microns,with a large percentage being less than 25 microns). As a result, wherethese small particulate contaminants are captured by a downstreamstrainer (e.g., a wedge wire screen strainer), both on and within thestrainer surface, and then later dislodged during the strainer cleaningprocess, these extremely small particulate contaminants do not fall bygravity toward a drain but remain suspended in the fuel oil and willre-attach to the strainer surface. Therefore, there remains a need for acleaning device that can dislodge such extremely small particulatecontaminants off of the downstream strainer surface, as well as fromwithin the strainer surface, and then ensure that these particulatecontaminants flow out through the drain rather than re-attaching to thestrainer surface.

Thus, there is a need for an improved system for removing undesiredparticulate contaminants from a fuel oil flow and without interruptingthat fuel oil flow to the engines, while minimizing the amount of fluidremoved therewith. It is to just such a system that the presentinvention is directed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the general object of the instant invention toprovide a fuel oil cleaning device that overcomes the problems of theprior art.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fuel oil cleaningdevice that permits continuous fuel oil flow even during the cleaningprocess.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fuel oil cleaningdevice that removes small particulate contaminants from a strainersurface, and from within the strainer surface, and ensures that whenthese small particulate contaminants are dislodged from the strainerduring cleaning that they enter a drain rather than re-attaching to thestrainer surface.

It is still yet another object of this invention to provide a fuel oilcleaning device that generates a high velocity flow of dislodgedparticulate contaminants away from the strainer and into a drain.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fuel oil cleaningdevice that minimizes the amount of fuel oil that must be discardedduring cleaning.

It is still yet a further object of this invention to eliminate the needfor frequent replacement of the fuel oil filter.

It is still another object of this invention to minimize the costsassociated with frequent fuel oil filter replacements.

It is still yet even another object of this invention to improve theefficiency of particulate removal.

It is still yet another object of this invention to provide a fuel oilfilter that can be self-cleaned with the use of a reverse flow of cleanfuel oil.

It is even yet another object of this invention to provide aself-cleaning fuel oil filter system that permits the fuel oil filterelement to remain stationary during cleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing afuel oil cleaning system disposed within a fuel oil flow havingparticulate contaminants therein. As mentioned earlier, the particulatecontaminants that need to be removed from the fuel oil flow areextremely small, less than 100 microns, and a large percentage of theseless than 25 microns, therefore do not settle out by gravity. Theinvention of the present application is well-suited to removing thesesmall particulate contaminants from the fuel oil flow and into a drain.

The fuel oil cleaning system comprises: an inlet valve for controllingthe fuel oil flow having particulate contaminants therein which forms acontaminated fuel oil flow and wherein the contaminated fuel oil flowflows through a first output port of the inlet valve; a stationaryporous member positioned in the contaminated fuel oil flow that passesthrough the first output port and wherein the contaminated fuel oil flowenters the stationary porous member through a first porous membersurface and exits through a second porous member surface towards asecond output port; and wherein the contaminated fuel oil flow depositsthe particulate contaminants on the first porous member surface to forma clean fuel oil flow that flows toward the second output port; anoutlet valve coupled to the second output port for controlling the cleanfuel oil flow; a flow control means, operated during a porous membercleaning process, having a flow control means input coupled to a sourceof clean fuel oil and a flow control means output coupled to the secondoutput port; and wherein the flow control means controls a reverse flowof the clean fuel oil that flows from the second porous member surfacethrough the first porous member surface for dislodging the particulatecontaminants from the first porous member surface to form a contaminatedreverse flow of fuel oil; a drain valve coupled to the first output fordirecting the contaminated reverse flow of fuel oil towards a drainduring the cleaning process; and wherein the inlet valve and outletvalve are closed during the cleaning process.

The above invention also includes a method for cleaning a fuel oil flowhaving particulate contaminants therein. The method comprises the stepsof: positioning a stationary porous member in the contaminated fuel oilflow such that the contaminated fuel oil flow enters the stationaryporous member through a first porous member surface and exits through asecond porous member surface toward an output port, and wherein thecontaminated fuel oil flow deposits the particulate contaminants on thefirst porous member surface; isolating the stationary porous member fromthe contaminated fuel oil flow during a cleaning process; passing areverse flow of clean fuel oil from the output port and through thestationary porous member from the second porous surface member surfaceto the first porous member surface for dislodging the particulatecontaminants from the first porous member surface to form a contaminatedreverse flow of fuel oil; opening a drain to receive the contaminatedreverse flow of fuel oil; discontinuing the reverse flow of clean fueloil while closing the drain to complete the cleaning process; andrecoupling the stationary porous member to the contaminated fuel oilflow.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a fuel oilcleaning system for use with a fuel oil flow having particulatecontaminants therein and wherein the cleaning system comprises: an inletvalve for controlling the fuel oil flow having particulate contaminantstherein forming a contaminated fuel oil flow and wherein thecontaminated fuel oil flows through a first output port of the inletvalve; a stationary porous member positioned in the contaminated fueloil flow that passes through the first output port and wherein thecontaminated fuel oil flow enters the stationary porous member through afirst porous member surface and exits through a second porous membersurface towards a second output port and wherein the fuel oil flowdeposits the particulate contaminants on the first porous member surfaceto form a clean fuel oil flow that flows towards the second output port;a third output port coupled to a drain through a drain valve; the inletvalve being closed while the drain valve is opened during a cleaningprocess for generating a reverse flow of the clean fuel oil that flowsfrom the second output port towards the third output port, and whereinthe reverse flow of the clean fuel oil flows through the stationaryporous member from the second porous member surface through the firstporous member surface for dislodging the particulate contaminants fromthe first porous member surface to form a contaminated reverse flow offuel oil that flows into the drain; and the drain valve being closed andthe inlet valve being opened after the cleaning process is completed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and many of the intended advantages of this invention willbe readily appreciated when the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the fuel oil system in which the presentinvention is located;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention taken alongline 5—5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is partial sectional view taken along line 6—6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 7—7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention using areverse flow of clean fuel oil as part of the particulate-removingmeans;

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view taken along line 9—9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 except that a different reverse flowdirection is depicted;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 5,depicting different portions of the partition and one of the associatedwipers;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 5,depicting the passageways in the particulate-removing means support foruse with the alternative drain configuration;

FIG. 13 is a partial isometric view of the internal particulate chamberdepicting the partition and one of the wipers comprising the shoes;

FIG. 14 is a schematic of a fuel oil cleaning system using a stationaryfuel oil strainer;

FIG. 15 is a variation of the fuel oil cleaning system of FIG. 14wherein the downline fuel flow is used as the source of the reverseclean oil fuel flow;

FIG. 16 is another variation of the invention of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a stationary filter, that can beused in the systems shown in FIGS. 14-16, and having an ultrasonicgenerator disposed therein;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of the circled portion shown in FIG. 17; and

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of the stationary filter taken along line19—19 of FIG. 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following is a detailed description of the present invention. Thepresent invention has wide application where straining very smallparticulate contaminants, less than 100 microns and large percentage ofthese are less than 25 microns, from a fuel oil flow is required, and isnot limited to the environment shown in FIG. 1, as will be discussed indetail below. The present invention is characterized as a non-disposablecleaning device, i.e., having a porous member that can be cleaned ratherthan being thrown away. The term non-disposable is defined as an itemthat does not require periodic replacement, e.g., once a day, week ormonth. Thus, such a non-disposable item has obvious advantages inenvironments where storage is limited and cleaning device replenishmentfacilities are unavailable, e.g., ocean-going vessels. Other examplesystems include power plants, cogeneration facilities, etc.

As an exemplary environment, Applicants have depicted a ship fuel oilsystem for disclosing the preferred embodiment. Referring now in greaterdetail to the various figures of the drawing, wherein like referencecharacters refer to like parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 at 20 an oilstrainer of the present invention. The oil strainer 20 forms part of acompensated fuel system for use on watercraft, e.g., ships and boats.The compensated fuel oil system comprises a fuel oil service subsystemwhich includes a service tank 24 which is filled daily from a main fuelstorage tank 22 with approximately one day's amount of fuel. The flow offuel from the service tank 24 to the engine (which in the preferredembodiment is either a gas turbine or a diesel engine) must be acontinuous fuel oil flow, as defined above, in that any interruption inthat flow will shut down the main engines of the ship, thereby renderingthe ship incapable of maneuvering. As such, there cannot be any shutdownof the flow, even to clean a fuel oil filter located therein. To meetthis requirement, the self cleaning fuel oil strainer 20 provides themeans for filtering such a continuous fuel oil flow without interruptingthat flow, as will be discussed below in detail.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the fuel oil strainer 20 comprises twocanisters 26 and 28 that are fed fuel oil from a common input manifold30 (e.g., 2½ inch class 150 ANSI flanged input) at the top portion ofthe strainer 20. Each canister 26 and 28 has two inputs from the commonmanifold 30, as indicated by inputs 32A and 32B for canister 26 and byinputs 34A and 34B for canister 28. Each canister 26 and 28 comprises acylindrical-shaped porous member 36 and 38, respectively, through whichthe fuel oil flows, as will be discussed in detail later. The porousmembers 36 and 38 comprise a screen selected from the group consistingof wedge wire, wire cloth and perforated metal. In the preferredembodiment, the porous members 36 and 38 comprise wedge wire screens,such as those manufactured by Leem Filtration Products, Inc. of Mahwah,N.J. It is also within the broadest scope of the present invention thatthe porous members 36 and 38 may comprise wire cloth or perforatedmetal, as opposed to wedge wire screens. One of the main features of theoil strainer 20 is its ability to filter out fine particulate matter,e.g., particulates less than 100 microns, where a large percentage ofthese are less than 25 microns.

Drive mechanisms 40 and 42 (FIG. 3) are provided to rotate therespective porous members 36 and 38 during the cleaning process abouttheir respective center axes, only one (44) of which is clearly shown inFIG. 5. Otherwise, during normal operation, the porous members 36 and 38remain stationary.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, fuel oil enters each canister through itsrespective inputs and then flows around the periphery of each porousmember 36 and 38; in particular, fuel oil flow from inputs 32A and 32Bare shown by arrows 46A and 46B, respectively, and fuel oil flow frominputs 34A and 34B are shown by arrows 48A and 48B, respectively. Theinputs 32A and 32B are located on both sides of an internal particulatechamber 50 (FIG. 7, which comprises two dislodge subchambers 50A/50B anda drain subchamber 50C, all of which are discussed later) in canister26; similarly, although not shown, the inputs 34A and 34B in canister 28are also located on both sides of a internal particulate chamber, alsocomprising two dislodge subchambers and a drain subchamber. Thus, fueloil input flow moves away from the chamber 50 and around the peripheryof the porous members 36 and 38 and then through them, as is discussednext.

Fuel oil flow through the porous member is more easily depicted in FIG.5, which is a cross-sectional view of the canister 26, although itshould be understood that the following discussion is applicable to theother canister 28. The main fuel oil flow is through the porous member36, from an outside surface 37 to an inside surface 39, as indicated bythe arrows 52, and down through the hollow interior 41 of the porousmember 36. As the fuel oil then flows through the porous member 36,particulate contaminants are then trapped against the outer surface 37of the porous member 36. The filtered fuel oil exits into a main output54 of the canister, as shown by the arrow 56. FIG. 4 is a bottom view ofboth canisters 26 and 28 and it shows the main output 54 of canister 26and a main output 58 of canister 28 feeding into a common outputmanifold 60. Thus, fuel oil flow through the strainer 20 is basicallycontinuous.

When cleaning of the porous member 36 and 38 is required, as indicatedby pressure drop across the strainer 20 (as measured by a pressuretransducer, not shown), the drive mechanisms 40 and 42 are activated torotate the respective porous members. In addition, solenoid valves 72and 74 (FIG. 3) are activated to open respective drains (only one 76 ofwhich is shown in FIG. 5), located directly below the drain subchamber50C, for diverting the particulate debris and a limited amount fuel oildown through a respective drain, rather than through the main outlets 54and 58. Furthermore, it is within the broadest scope of this inventionto include other alternative locations for the drain, e.g., along thechamber, rather than under it, as will be discussed in detail later.Opening of the drain 76 (or the alternative drain) is kept to a minimumto discard as little fuel as possible while flushing the particulatecontaminants from the chamber. Thus, for example, the drain 76 can beopen all or any part of the time that the porous members 36 and 38 arerotating.

Cleaning of the porous members 36 and 38 is accomplished by theparticulate-removing means, only one of which is shown most clearly inFIGS. 5, 7, 8 and 9; as such, the following discussion applies to theparticulate-removal means in the canister 28 also. In the preferredembodiment, the particulate-removing means comprises an elongated wirebrush 62 that spans the length of the porous member 36. The brush fibersare in contact with the outside surface 37 of the porous screen 36 andthus bear on the outside surface 37 of the porous member 36 along itsentire length. The brush 62 forms the separation between the twodislodge subchambers 50A and 50B, while the majority of a brush support63 is disposed inside the drain subchamber 50C, as shown in FIG. 7.

As mentioned previously, the chamber 50 comprises the two dislodgesubchambers 50A/50B and a drain subchamber 50C. The chamber 50 comprisesa pair of confining walls 64A and 64B, also running the length of theporous member 36, that enclose the brush 62/brush support 63. Thepurpose of these walls 64A and 64B is to contain the dislodgedparticulate debris within the chamber 50 so that substantially only fueloil within this chamber 50 will be discharged through the drain 76 (oralternative drain 300, to be discussed later) during cleaning. Apartition 200, also running the length of the porous member 36, formsthe separation between the two dislodge subchambers 50A/50B and thedrain subchamber 50C. The partition 200 itself comprises a pair of outerflanges 202A/202B, a base wall 204 and sidewalls 206A/206B. The basewall 204 is secured between a particulate-removing means (e.g., brush 62or scraper) head 61 and the particulate-removing means support 63. Atthe bend between the sidewalls 206A/206B and the outer flanges202A/202B, the partition 200 comprises a plurality of apertures 212(FIGS. 7, 9, 11 and 12) that permit the passage of dislodged particulatecontaminants from the two dislodge subchambers 50A/50B to the drainsubchamber 50C. Because of the size of the apertures 212 (e.g., 0.094″diameter), once any particulate contaminants from the two dislodgesubchambers 50A/50B make their way through the partition 200, there isvery little chance that such particulate contaminants can find their wayback through the apertures 212 and ultimately return to the outersurface 37.

A drain passageway 75, through a strainer support housing 77, is alsoshown in FIG. 5. FIGS. 7 and 9 also show the passageway 75 in phantom.

At the extreme ends of the confining walls 64A and 64B, respectivewipers 65A and 65B are secured to the outside surfaces of the walls 64Aand 64B, respectively, and which also run the length of the porousmember 36. The wipers 65A and 65B (e.g., 316 stainless steel, half-hard)are coupled to the ends of the walls 64A and 64B using fasteners 78 andplates 79. As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 13, wiper 65A comprises aplurality of spaced-apart shoes or runners 67 that are in contact withthe outer surface 37 of the porous member 36. These shoes 67 (e.g.,0.010″-0.015″ thickness and ¼″ wide and which may be spot-welded to thewiper 65A) serve to maintain the wiper 65A a sufficient distance awayfrom the outer surface 37 such that during cleaning, while the porousmember 36 is rotating (direction of rotation is shown by the arrow 161in FIG. 7), the particulate contaminants adhering to the outer surface37 pass beneath the wiper 65A between the shoes and then are driven offof the outer surface 37 by the particulate-removing means 62 and intothe dislodge subchamber 50A. The drain subchamber 50C is in direct fluidcommunication with the drain 76 (or alternative drain 300). When thedrain 76 (or alternative drain 300) is open, any particulatecontaminants suspended in the dislodge subchamber 50A are pulled towardthe apertures 212 in the partition 200 and pass through them and out tothe drain 76 (or 300).

Any remaining particulate contaminants which cannot be mechanicallydriven off of the surface 37 by the brush 62, e.g., particulatecontaminants lodged in between the outer surface 37 and the insidesurface 39 of the porous member 36 (e.g., lodged in the wedge wire cellsof a porous member 36 comprising wedge wire), are subjected to a reversepressure and are driven out of the surface 37 into the second dislodgesubchamber 50B. In particular, unlike the first dislodge subchamber 50Awhich is not totally closed off since the wiper 65A stands off from theoutside surface 37 of the porous member 36, the second dislodgesubchamber 50B forms a completely-closed off chamber because the wiper65B does not include shoes and, therefore, is in contact with the outersurface 37 along its entire length. Thus, the second dislodge subchamber50B is subjected completely to the influence of the pressuredifferential created between the inside surface 39 of the porous member36 and the opened drain pressure which is present in the drainsubchamber 50C, via the apertures 212. When the drain 76 (or 300) isopen, these particulate contaminants, lodged in between the outersurface 37 and the inside surface 39 of the porous member 36, are drivenout of that region by the reverse pressure differential and then aresuspended in the second dislodge subchamber 50B; this pressuredifferential also pulls these particulate contaminants toward theapertures 212 in the partition 200 and into the drain subchamber 50C forpassage through the drain 76 (or 300).

As pointed out earlier, the particulate contaminants are of an extremelysmall size, less than 100 microns, and a large percentage of these areless than 25 microns; as a result, these particulate contaminants do notsettle out by gravity into the drain but rather, due to their smallsize, remain suspended in the fuel oil. The invention of the presentapplication is well suited to overcome this problem as described below.

It should be understood that the apertures 212 provide for fluidcommunication between the first dislodge subchamber 50A and the drainsubchamber 50C and for fluid communication between the second dislodgesubchamber 50B and the drain subchamber 50C. However, because theapertures 212 are small, they maintain a high velocity of particulatecontaminants from both the first and second dislodge subchambers 50A and50B into the drain subchamber 50C under the influence of the reversepressure differential. Such a high velocity cannot be sustained byreplacing the apertures 212 with a slot. Furthermore, replacing theapertures 212 with a slot would defeat the purpose of maintaining thetransferred particulate contaminants (i.e., particulate contaminantsthat have passed from the dislodge subchambers 50A/50B) in the drainchamber 50B since the particulate contaminants would not be precludedfrom making their way back to the outer surface 37 of the porous member36.

In particular, the advantage of using the plurality of apertures, asopposed to a slot of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,655 (Steineret al.), is that the plurality of apertures provides for a rapid flowvelocity as opposed to a low flow velocity for the slot. For example, ifthere are 21 apertures that form one set of apertures in the partition200, each having a diameter of approximately 0.094″, then the total areais approximately π(0.094″/2)²×21=0.1457 in². If, on the other hand, aslot having a width of 0.094″ and a length of 12.594″ (i.e., the lengthfrom the top of the uppermost aperture in the partition 200 to thebottom-most aperture in the partition 200; this is a reasonableassumption since the Steiner et al. patent states that the slot issubstantially equal to the scraper length-Steiner et al. patent, col. 1,lines 61-62) is used, the area is 1.184 in². Thus, using a plurality ofapertures presents only ⅛ the area of the slot. As a result, for a givenflow rate (gallons/minute), the slot may provide flow velocity of 1ft/sec whereas the apertured partition generates a flow velocity of 8ft/sec. The higher velocity significantly reduces the chance that aparticulate will migrate backwards through the plurality of aperturesand re-attach to the porous surface 36.

It is also within the broadest scope of the present invention to includean alternative drain 300 configuration as shown most clearly in FIGS. 5,8 and 12. To that end, a drain 300 is depicted along side the drainsubchamber 50C rather than disposed underneath the subchamber 50C, asdiscussed previously. The drain 300 comprises drain passageways 302, 304and 306 that form a portion of the particulate-removing means support63. The passageways 302-306 are coupled at one end to a common manifold308 through which the dislodged particulate contaminants are disposedof. As shown in FIG. 12, the other end of each passageway 302-306comprises a respective cross hole 310, 312, and 314 disposed in thedrain subchamber 50B. Thus, when a drain solenoid valve 316 (FIG. 5) isactivated as discussed previously, particulate matter that has beendislodged from the outer surface 37 of the porous members 36/38 into thetwo dislodge subchambers 50A/50B, passes through the apertures 212 inthe partition 200 into the drain chamber 50C. From there, the dislodgedparticulate contaminants are driven into the cross holes 310-314,through the passageways 302-306 and then into the common manifold 308.Thus, particulate contaminants dislodged from the outer surface 37 ofthe porous members 36/38 would be driven into the alternative drain 300.

Alternatively, instead of using a single solenoid valve 316, it iswithin the broadest scope of this invention to include dedicatedsolenoid valves 318, 320 and 322 (FIG. 5) that individually couplerespective passageways 302-306 to the common manifold 308.

It is also within the broadest scope of the present invention that theterm particulate-removing means include a brush, a scraper, or anyequivalent device that is used to dislodge particulate contaminants fromthe outside surface 37 of the porous members 36 and 38. For example,where larger particulate contaminants are to be filtered from the fueloil flow, a scraper (not shown) can be used in place of the brush 62.

As shown in FIG. 1, the oil strainer 20 can also be used in the fuel oiltransfer subsystem portion of the compensated fuel oil system, with afew modifications. For example, the input 31 and the output 61 of theoil strainer 20 used in the fuel oil transfer subsystem would be greaterin size (as compared to the input 30 and output 60 of the oil strainer20 used in the fuel oil service system discussed previously) toaccommodate the larger fuel flow in that subsystem. In addition, theporous members 36 and 38 may need to only filter out particulate matteras small as 25 microns. In all other aspects, the oil strainer 20 usedin the fuel oil transfer subsystem is similar to the oil strainer 20used in the fuel oil service system. (The fuel oil transfer subsystemcomprises the main fuel storage tank 22 in which sea water is used toreplace fuel used).

It is also within the broadest scope of the present invention that theparticulate-removing means also encompasses a reverse flow of clean fueloil for dislodging the particulate contaminants from the fuel oilfilter; or a reverse flow of clean fuel oil in combination with theparticulate-removing member (e.g., brush or scraper), discussedpreviously.

In particular, as shown in FIGS. 8-10, a second embodiment of thepresent invention comprises a particulate-removing means that includesan elongated spraying element 151 comprising a plurality of ports 153.The elongated spraying element 151 is coupled to a pressure source 155(e.g., a pump, air supply, etc.) that recirculates clean fuel oil (whoseflow is indicated by the arrow 56) into the elongated spraying element151, during cleaning only, to create a high energy fuel oil spray thatemanates from each of the ports 153. As shown most clearly in FIG. 9,the direction of the high energy spray (indicated by the arrow 157) isfrom the inside surface 39 to the outside surface 37 of the porousmember 136. Thus, as the porous member 36 is rotated (directionindicated by the arrow 161) during cleaning, the high energy spraydrives the particulate contaminants from the outside surface 39 into thedislodge subchamber 50B.

It should be understood that the particulate-removing means may comprisethe elongated spraying element 151 alone for driving off the particulatecontaminants, or the particulate-removing means may comprise aparticulate-removing member (e.g., a brush 62 or scraper) in addition tothe elongated spraying element 151, as shown in FIGS. 8-9. Together, theelongated spraying element 151 and the particulate-removing member(e.g., brush 62 or scraper) act to dislodge the particulate contaminantsfrom the outside surface 37 of the porous member 36 during cleaning.When the particulate-removing member (e.g., a brush 62 or scraper) isused in combination with the elongated spraying element 151, thedirection of the high energy spray (indicated by the arrow 163) may beset to occur after the particulate-removing member dislodges some of theparticulate contaminants (FIG. 10), thereby driving particulatecontaminants into the second dislodge subchamber 50B.

The porous member 36, for use in this second embodiment, comprises anopen lower end 137 (FIG. 8) to permit passage of the elongated sprayingelement 151 therethrough.

Another variation of the self-cleaning fuel oil filter that utilizes areverse flow of clean fuel oil for cleaning purposes is depicted at 220in FIG. 14. In particular, as indicated by the arrow 165, during normaloperation, contaminated fuel oil enters through an inlet valve 167 to afuel oil filter 220. During normal operation, a drain valve 171 and apurge valve 173 remain closed, as will be discussed in detail later. Thefuel oil filter 220 comprises a porous member 236, preferably having awire cloth configuration. The direction of the fuel oil flow through theporous member 236 is given by the arrows 52 and is similar to the flowfor the porous members discussed previously, i.e., from an outsidesurface 37 of the porous member 236 to an inside surface (not shown) ofthe porous member 236 and then through the center portion 41 of theporous member 236. The cleaned fuel oil is then passed through an outletvalve 175 in the direction of the arrow 177.

The cleaning process for the fuel oil filter 220 is different from theprevious embodiments in that the porous member 236 does not move duringcleaning. Instead, a reverse flow of clean fuel oil (the direction ofthis reverse flow is given by the arrow 179) is injected down throughthe center of the porous member 236, from the inside surface to theoutside surface 37 of the porous member 236. This reverse flow of cleanfuel oil impacts the entire inside surface of the porous member 236 andflows to the outside surface 37 of the porous member 236, therebydislodging the particulate contaminants from the outside surface 37 ofthe porous member 236. Since this reverse flow acts through the entireporous member 236, there are no confining walls used. Thus, in thisembodiment, the particulate removal means comprises only the reverseflow of clean fuel oil. Because this reverse flow of clean fuel oil isapplied through the entire porous member 236, the fuel oil filter 220must be isolated from the normal fuel oil flow during cleaning, as willbe discussed in detail below.

In particular, when cleaning is required, the inlet valve 167 and outletvalve 175 are closed and the purge valve 173 and drain valve 171 areopened. The purge valve 173 is coupled to a clean fuel reservoir 181which is under pressure (e.g., an air supply, whose input flow isindicated by the arrow 183 and having a valve 185 for maintaining airpressure in the reservoir 181. The downstream clean fuel, indicated bythe arrow 187, enters the reservoir 181 through a recharge valve 189).When the purge valve 173 and the drain valve are opened, the reverseflow of clean fuel oil 179 drives the particulate contaminants off ofthe outside surface 37 of the porous member 236; this reverse flow, nowcontaining the dislodged particulate contaminants, flows out, asindicated by the arrow 191, through the drain valve 171. Once this flowof dislodged particulate contaminants passes to the drain, the purgevalve 173 and the drain valve 171 are closed and the input valve 167 andthe output valve 175 are opened, restoring normal fuel oil flow.

It should be understood that the continuous fuel oil flow isaccomplished by having a plurality (e.g., five to eight) parallel,non-rotating filter paths (not shown) that are coupled to the reservoir181 through respective purge valves 173. Thus, when any one non-rotationfilter path is being cleaned using the reverse fuel oil flow, theremaining parallel channels are operating under the normal fuel oilflow.

Another variation of this embodiment, depicted in FIG. 15, uses thedownstream clean fuel oil directly to create the reverse fuel oil flow.In particular, the purge valve 173 is coupled directly to the downstreamclean fuel oil flow. The sequence of valve openings/closings are similarto that described previously. Thus, when the purge valve 173 and thedrain valve 171 are opened a pressure differential is created and thereverse flow of clean fuel oil, the direction indicated by the arrow179, is generated directly from the downstream clean fuel oil flow.

Another variation of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 16 that usespassive components such as a check valve 400 and a flow restrictingorifice 402 in place of the purge valve 173.

It should also be understood that the variations of FIGS. 15 and 16,like that discussed with regard to FIG. 14, also comprise a plurality ofparallel, non-rotating filter paths that permit the continuous flow offuel oil when any one of the parallel, non-rotating filter paths isbeing cleaned by the reverse flow of clean fuel oil.

FIGS. 17-19 depict an exemplary stationary filter 220′, having anultrasonic generator 300 disposed therein, that can be used in thesystems shown in FIGS. 14-16 and, more preferably, to the systems ofFIGS. 15-16.

Before proceeding with a discussion of FIGS. 17-19, it should beunderstood that in FIGS. 14-16, the input flow 165 is shown in an upwarddirection from the bottom of the page toward the outlet flow 177 shownat the top of the page, for clarity only. The actual flow of any of thesystems shown in FIGS. 14-16 is exemplary only and may be in any numberof directions and, therefore, is not limited to those depicted in thosefigures. Thus, the orientation of the stationary filter 220′ shown inFIGS. 17-19 is simply inverted from that shown in FIGS. 14-16. Thus, the“top surface” 221′ in FIG. 17 corresponds to the “bottom” surface 221shown in FIGS. 14-16.

As will also be discussed in detail later, the input line into thestationary filter 220′ is from the side of the canister 26′, at an inputport 32′, rather than from the “bottom” surface 221 shown in FIGS.14-16; the reason for this will also be discussed later. In addition, adedicated drain port 376 passes the dislodged particulate contaminantsaway from the stationary filter 220′ to a drain (not shown). Because ofthese port configurations, the input tee 291 in the systems of FIGS.14-16 is eliminated.

As shown in FIG. 17, the stationary filter 220′ is housed in thecanister 26′. On one side of the canister 26′ is the input port 32′while on the other side of the canister 26′ is the drain port 376; atthe bottom of the canister 26′ is an output port 54′. The ultrasonicgenerator 300 is disposed inside the hollow interior 41 of thestationary filter 220′. The inlet valve 167 is coupled to the port 32′and the drain valve 171′ is coupled to the drain port 376. The valves167/171′ and the ultrasonic generator 300 may be operated by acontroller (not shown), or manually operated, during the cleaningprocess of the stationary filter 220′ itself, as will be discussedlater.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 19, the stationary filter 220′ ispositioned inside a chamber formed by a circular wall 380. The wall 380comprises a plurality of sets (e.g., eight) of vertically-aligned holes(e.g., ¼″ diameter) dispersed around the circular wall 380 (see FIG.17); one hole 382 of each of the plurality of vertically-aligned holesis shown in FIG. 19. As will be discussed in detail later, the circularwall 380 acts to minimize the effects of the high velocityparticulate-contaminated input flow 165, as well as to deflect anddisperse the flow 165 all around the stationary filter 220′.

The stationary filter 220′ comprises three parts: (1) an outer wirecloth layer 384 (e.g., 5 microns); (2) an inner 40-50 mesh layer 386;and (3) an inner perforated metal enclosure 388 (e.g., 16-18 gauge,stainless steel) all of which are microwelded together. The perforatedmetal enclosure 388 comprises staggered holes 390 (e.g., ¼″ diameter,see FIG. 17) that results in an overall surface area that isapproximately 50-60% open. The outer wire cloth layer 384 filters outthe particulate contaminants of incoming fuel oil flow that passesthrough the holes 382 in the circular wall 380; in particular, as theincoming fuel oil flow 165 passes through an outer surface 385′ (seeFIG. 18) of the wire cloth layer 384 to an inner surface 385″ of thewire cloth layer 384, the particulate contaminants lodge against theouter surface 385′. The 40-50 mesh layer 386 disperses the cleaned inputflow around the periphery of the perforated metal enclosure 388 andthrough all of the holes 390 therein. The cleaned fuel oil flow thenflows downward through the hollow interior 41 of the stationary filter220′ and through the output port 54′.

As can also be seen most clearly in FIG. 19, several continuous supportmembers 392 are disposed between the outer wire cloth layer 384 of thestationary filter 220′ and the circular wall 380. These continuoussupport members 392 form independent sectors 394 (e.g., eight, FIG. 19)around the periphery of the wire cloth layer 384. As mentioned earlier,during normal fuel oil flow, the effects of the high velocityparticulate-contaminated input flow 165 are minimized by the presence ofthe circular wall 380 and the sectorization formed by the continuoussupport members 394; these sectors 394 segment the input flow 165 sothat the input flow 165 impacts the wire cloth layer 384 around theentire stationary filter 220′. In particular, once theparticulate-contaminated input flow 165 in each sector 394 passesthrough the vertically-aligned apertures 382, the input flow 165encounters the outer surface 385′ of the wire cloth layer 384 whichtraps the particulate contaminants therein. As also mentioned earlier,the cleaned fuel oil then passes through the 40-50 mesh layer 386 whichdisperses the cleaned input flow around the periphery of the perforatedmetal enclosure 388 and through all of the holes 390 therein. Thecleaned fuel oil flow then flows downward through the hollow interior 41of the stationary filter 220′ and through the output port 54′.

The stationary filter 220′ is releasably secured inside the canister 26′using four tie bars 396 (FIG. 19) that couple between a lower baseplate398 and an upper securement surface 400. To properly seal the stationaryfilter 220′ inside the canister 26′ an upper annular seal 402 (e.g.,rubber, see FIG. 18) and a lower annular seal 404 (e.g., rubber) areused.

The ultrasonic generator 300 (e.g., the Tube Resonator RS-36-30-X, 35kHz manufactured by Telsonic USA of Bridgeport, N.J.) is releasablymounted in the hollow interior 41 of the stationary filter 220′. Inparticular, an elongated housing 393 of the ultrasonic generator 300 issuspended in the hollow interior 41 of the stationary filter 220′. Thus,when the reverse flow of clean fuel oil 179 occupies the hollow interior41, the ultrasonic generator 300 is energized wherein the ultrasonicenergy is applied to the wire cloth layer 384 in the direction shown bythe arrows 395 through the holes 390. The elongated housing 393 isattached to an electrical connector 397 which forms the upper portion ofthe ultrasonic generator 300. The electrical connector 397 is thenreleasably secured to the canister 26′ (e.g., a nut 399). A wire harness401 provides the electrical connection to the ultrasonic generator 300from the controller (not shown). In this configuration, it can beappreciated by one skilled in the art, that the ultrasonic generator 300can be installed/replaced rather easily without the need to disconnectany plumbing from the input port 32′, output port 54′ or drain port 376.

During normal operation, the inlet valve 167 is open and the drain valve171′ is closed, thereby allowing the contaminated fuel oil flow 165 tobe cleaned by the stationary filter 220′ as discussed above. When thestationary filter 220′ itself is to be cleaned, the controller (notshown) closes the inlet valve 167 while opening the drain valve 171′. Asa result, a high pressure reverse flow 179 of clean fuel oil flows fromthe output port 54′ and through the three-part stationary filter 220′and out through the drain port 376. As this reverse flow 179 passesthrough the wire cloth layer 384, the particulate contaminants aredislodged from the outer surface 385″ of the wire cloth layer 384 andthen driven out through the drain port 376. It should be noted thatduring this high pressure reverse flow 179, the continuous supportmembers 392 also act to prevent the wire cloth layer 384 from separatingfrom the mesh layer 386. The reverse flow 179 is applied for a shortduration (e.g., approximately 4-5 seconds).

At the end of this application, and while there is still clean fuel oilin the hollow interior 41 but where the flow 179 is simply migrating(e.g., movement of clean fuel oil in inches/minute) rather than flowing,the controller (not shown) activates the ultrasonic generator 300 for alonger duration (e.g., 30 seconds to a couple of minutes) to provide forfurther cleaning of the wire cloth layer 384 by using ultrasonic energyto dislodge any remaining particulate contaminants in the wire clothlayer 384 into the migrating fuel oil flow and out through the drainport 376.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate ourinvention and others may, by applying current or future knowledge,readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

We claim:
 1. A fuel oil cleaning system for use with a fuel oil flowhaving particulate contaminants therein, said cleaning systemcomprising: an inlet valve for controlling the fuel oil flow havingparticulate contaminants therein forming a contaminated fuel oil flowand wherein the contaminated fuel oil flows through a first output portof said inlet valve; a stationary porous member positioned in thecontaminated fuel oil flow that passes through said first output port,said contaminated fuel oil flow entering said stationary porous memberthrough a first porous member surface and exiting through a secondporous member surface towards a second output port, said fuel oil flowdepositing the particulate contaminants on said first porous membersurface to form a clean fuel oil flow that flows towards said secondoutput port; said stationary porous member comprising: an inner rigidenclosure having a plurality of perforations; a mesh layer wrappedaround said inner rigid enclosure; and a wire cloth layer, said wirecloth layer comprising said first porous member surface and said secondporous member surface, said wire cloth layer being wrapped around saidmesh layer and wherein said second porous member surface is in contactwith said mesh layer; a third output port coupled to a drain through adrain valve; said inlet valve being closed while said drain valve isopened during a cleaning process for generating a reverse flow of saidclean fuel oil that flows from said second output port towards saidthird output port, said reverse flow of said clean fuel oil flowingthrough said stationary porous member from said second porous membersurface through said first porous member surface for dislodging theparticulate contaminants from said first porous member surface to form acontaminated reverse flow of fuel oil that said drain valve being closedand said inlet valve being opened after said cleaning process iscompleted; and wherein said stationary porous member further comprisesan ultrasonic generator that is positioned inside said inner rigidenclosure, said ultrasonic generator being activated to facilitatecleaning during a portion of said cleaning process.